Everyday Shopping in Edinburgh

Ben bought a ‘pay as you go’ phone from a little shop and it didn’t take long to figure out we needed to get another phone so he and Catherine could communicate. So Catherine and I went to that same little shop to get another phone. We also stopped at a little grocery store that was owned by people from the middle east. We wondered if they eat eggs, because their store, and the other store close by that was also owned by middle easterners did not sell eggs. We did pick up some fresh produce. They have a couple of five and dime stores—called Pound Savers (remember pounds are like dollars) and Stretchers (I guess to stretch the pounds.) It’s hard to maneuver a stroller around those stores because they’re packed tight with every thing under the sun to cater to the students that live in this area. Those stores, and the grocery stores were SO BUSY because of the semester beginning. We had heard that it’s not wise to order produce online to have it delivered, because they tend to give you the fruit/vegetables that don’t look as fresh (although you can always refuse it). Anyway, I took an afternoon to go to the main grocery store and it was wall to wall people. The little ‘trolly’ was built differently and I had a difficult time steering it. And I remembered to think of the walk home—I did bring a little fold out pull cart that was in the apartment closet in which to roll the groceries home. So I kept that in mind as I was shopping. What an adventure. The check out line went all the way to the back of the store. But six checkout stations were pulling from that one line. I wish I could tell you what they yelled when calling for the next person in line (or should I say, ‘Queue’), but I never did make it out. It sounded like ‘next till, please.’ There were no conveyor belts to put the groceries on—they just pull it out of your hand basket or you hand it to them from the trolley, then you sack it up on the other side of the register. I just loaded the groceries into my little pull cart (trolley?) as well as into a cloth shoulder bag. I felt very ‘green’ and urban. Then I bounced and pulled my little cart over the cobblestones back to the apartment building where I lugged it up the three flights of stairs.

We took a day that Ben didn’t have classes to have him help us find our way out to Ikea. I had never been to an Ikea store, but your Aunt Jolene loves it and drags Uncle Greg there every time they’re in Utah. We saw it on the bus schedule while waiting for the bus that took us near the church. It’s a pretty fun store, but again, you need to be careful what you buy if you don’t have a car, so you can get it home. It was a pretty fun place and we bought some cool dishes and a few gadgets for their apartment. Catherine and I found a bookshelf, small desk, and rolling drawers that were very reasonable, but we decided that rather than haul them home on the bus, we’d have them delivered. Come to find out Ikea doesn’t deliver in Scotland. So I bought the bookshelf and a crib (cot) from the Wal-mart equivalent to have it delivered. Then Catherine and I took the folding cart and stroller and took off for Ikea on our own. We bought the desk and rolling drawers—both of which were in flat boxes and rather heavy, but we thought they were manageable so off we went. We were able to balance the drawers on the handles of the stroller and balance the desk on top of the rolling cart—which worked well except when getting on and off the bus. I bet we were a sight, trying to maneuver everything off the bus while everyone just stood back and watched. I had worked up a sweat by the time we got them up to their 3rd floor apartment. Catherine put them together without any problem. And they look great! I didn’t get to see the bookshelf & crib (cot) because they were delivered after I left.